Mantralayam (Andhra Pradesh): Union Home Minister Amit Shah wished that Mantralayam would emerge as a world spiritual and tourist centre with the installation of a 108 feet Panchaloha idol of Lord Sri Ram. Amit Shah has virtually laid the foundation stone for the idol of Lord Ram to be built at a cost of Rs 300 crore on the outskirts of Mantralayam in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh.
In his address, Amit Shah said that the 108 feet tall idol of Lord Shri Ram to be installed in Mantralayam will give the message of our Sanatan Dharma to the entire world for many ages and will strengthen the Vaishnava tradition in the country and the world. He said that 108 is a very sacred number in Hindu culture.
The Union Home Minister said that this project is spread over an area of 10 acres in Mantralayam village situated on the banks of the Tungabhadra river and would be completed in two-and-a-half years. He said that Mantralayam village is very famous for the temple of Raghavendra Swamy. This place has historical significance. The great Vijayanagara empire originated on the banks of the Tungabhadra river, it restored Swadesh and Swadharma by driving out the invaders from the entire south. Shah said that under the Mantralayam Das Sahitya Prakalp, many initiatives like housing, 'Anna Daanam', 'Pran Daanam', 'Vidya Daanam', drinking water and cow protection have been taken up.
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Subudhendra Theerthulu, president of Sriraghavendraswamy Math, Ramu, Sridhar, founders of 'Jai Sriram Foundation', Minister Gummanuru Jayaram, BJP leader TG Venkatesh and a large number of villagers participated. The construction of the idol will be done under the auspices of the Jai Sreeram Foundation. Sculptor Ram Vanji Sutar, who designed the huge statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujarat, was entrusted with the responsibility of designing the idol of Lord Ram.
He basically finalised the design of the idol. The foundation stone was laid on Sunday with a small idol based on that model. After making the 108 feet panchaloha idol in two years, the idol will be consecrated. A Ram temple will be built in front of that idol. The construction of the temple will be done on a 15-acre site about a km away from Mantralayam. This Ram temple will be designed as a complete stone building.
Dr A Velu, who is famous among the sculptors of the temple, was entrusted with the responsibility of building this temple. In these tens of acres, small temples will be built that resemble Tirumala Venkateswara Swamy temple, Vishwanatha Temple in Kashi, Narasimhaswamy Temple in Simhachalam, Badrinath Temple in Uttarakhand, Kerala Anantha Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Basara Gnana Saraswati Temple, Karnataka Cheluva Narayanaswamy Temple, Tamil Nadu Mooshanam Varahaswamy Temple, Vithoba Rukmi Temple in Maharashtra.
